Shepard's Parents
by Shepard2189
Summary: Shepard's parents participate in the first trip through the Charon Relay. During the mission, they discuss their relationship and their future unborn child.


A/N: I know that the trip through the Charon Relay only found Arcturus. I included a brief trip to Eden Prime for story telling purposes. I will commend you if you see what movie I'm referencing :)

October 26, 2149

2nd Lieutenant James Shepard stood in the docking bay with his girlfriend Operations Chief Hannah Armstrong. The two had enlisted in the newly formed Alliance military last year, and their former ranks were transferred over. The two 25 year olds were proud to be part of the Alliance military, and to be part of this heroic journey out of the solar system.

"This is it" Hannah said with a heavy sigh, "The journey that could either turn us into heroes….or kill us"

"We may die, but either way, we will be heroes" James said with a slight smile, "It will be a good ride"

"Yeah….it will"

The two were looking at their ship, which was the SSV Endurance. It had a sleek needle shape to it, with large fins going off from the sides. To James, it looked like a rocket on its side, except it had two fins rather than four. James turned around, and he saw the ship's XO, Staff Lieutenant Cooper, kneeling by his 10 year old daughter and 12 year old son.

"Daddy, are you going to come back?" the 10 year old girl asked tearfully

"I'm coming back Helen, I promise. Who knows? Maybe when I come back, you will be my age" Cooper said, trying to joke with his daughter

"I don't want you to go!"

James frowned when he watched his XO try to cheer his daughter Helen up. Hannah held his hand tightly and said, "That must be difficult for him. Saying goodbye to your daughter before you go off to certain death…."

"Yeah" James said softly, "I hope for both of our sakes that we never have to do that for our child"

"And that our child doesn't have to do the same to us" Hannah added, "For all we know, she may want to join the military"

James cocked an eyebrow, and he said, "She? I was thinking our child may be a boy"

Hannah said playfully, "Come on, you boys can't have all the fun. Girls gotta be a part of this too"

The two looked up when they heard Captain Grissom, their commanding officer, say over the intercom, "Attention crew of SSV Endurance. We will be leaving port in ten minutes. Get on board ASAP"

"You heard the skipper. Duty calls" Hannah said as she started walking towards the ship

James took one last look at the port. He could see his parents, who were standing behind a line. Hannah's parents were standing right next to them. James saw Cooper's son holding Helen's hand, guiding her back to the line.

"We will see them on the far side" James said as Cooper stood besides him, "I promise you"

"I hope so"

James walked over to join Hannah, who was sitting in the ship's cockpit. He thought it was a nice change from space missions in the 20th and 21st centuries. Back then, astronauts needed to wear spacesuits for launch. Now, they have the comfort of mass effect fields. These fields dampen any G forces that a spacecraft's crew would have felt. After Grissom gave his pilots some orders, the Endurance gently pushed itself out of the docking port. James and Hannah watched the view outside the ship as the Endurance slowly turned around to face away from Earth.

"That's it?" James asked as the Earth shrank in the windows, "No speeches?"

Hannah asked, "Do we need to have one? I don't think Neil Armstrong made a speech before Apollo 11 launched"

"I know, but I think this moment is worthy of a speech. Here we are, about to rush to our possible deaths some hundreds or hundreds of thousands of light years away, and we act as if it's just another mission"

Hannah raised both eyebrows, and an amused look grew on her face.

"Well, well James. You're a romantic, are you? Did you sign up for the dream?" Hannah asked, "Secure man's future in space?"

James blushed slightly, and he said, "Well, I did grow up hearing stories about astronauts exploring the solar system, and heroes defeating aliens and saving the galaxy. And, well, proving himself to the woman he loves"

Hannah twisted in her seat so she was facing him. She said, "Defeating aliens and saving the galaxy? I don't think either of us will do that. Well, maybe our children will"

"Children?" James asked, "I thought you just wanted one"

"Fine" Hannah said, raising her hands in mock surrender, "Maybe our child will one day defeat aliens and save the galaxy. For the record, I was only speaking of our generation's children"

"In our child's case, he will probably need to save the galaxy several times" James added, "He needs to maintain appearances, after all"

"What appearances?" Hannah asked, laughing, "That he's the hero, and that he will be there to save the day?"

"Now who's saying our future kid is a boy?" James teased, "I thought you wanted a girl"

Hannah paused, realizing that James caught her. She quickly responded with, "Well, if we have a girl, then all she needs to do is save the galaxy once before men start getting on one knee before her"

"Assuming she doesn't attract a creeper or two along the way. I know how men are. The minute they see a woman…." James trailed off

"Our girl will be able to handle herself. I'm sure all she needs to do is shove a pistol in his face, and he will back off" Hannah said confidently, "If that fails, well, there's always a shotgun"

"You're assuming that she's going to be in the military!" James said, backing up a little

Hannah paused, and she said, "Well, of course she is. Military service has run in my family. My father, grandfather, and great-grandmother all signed up and swore the oath to service. In fact, it goes all the way back to Neil Armstrong"

James was surprised to hear Hannah say that. He asked, "Is that why you have the same first name as the first woman to step on Mars?"

Hannah nodded, and she said, "In fact, that was my great-grandmother. What about you? Are you serving for your family?"

James shook his head. He said, "No, I'm out here because man's future is here. There is so much to explore in space, so much to learn"

"Yeah" Hannah said, "I still remember watching my Dad take his first steps on Titan. Then he got tripped by one of his crewmembers, who was too busy taking in the view to watch where he was going. Dad chewed him out for goldbricking"

James chuckled, and he said, "Didn't Mission Control say that we lost all contact with the crew, only to get it back an hour later?"

Hannah chuckled, and she said, "Yeah. They were amused, but once he started swearing, Mission Control cut the audio. I remember my Mom covering my ears, and the looks she gave him when he came back"

"Did you have any siblings growing up?" James asked

"Yeah. I had three sisters. I'm the oldest, then there's Bethany, then Linda, then Shannon. Shannon is finishing high school. What about you?"

"I'm the only child of two astronauts. My parents both wanted to fly missions, so they reached a compromise. One parent would fly, while another parent would be on the ground. It proved frustrating for NASA at times" James replied

The two of them stopped when they saw a shadow fall on them. They looked up to see Grissom walking past them.

"I guess it's safe to walk through the ship" James said

Hannah smiled, and she stood up. Unfortunately, she stood up a little too quickly. She suddenly felt faint, and she felt the whole world tilt and spin around her.

"Whoa!" Hannah cried out.

James saw Hannah about to fall, and he caught her. James gently helped Hannah back onto her feet, but he kept holding her arm.

"You okay?" James asked

"Yeah" Hannah said softly, "I feel a little light headed. I think I just need some rest"

James was still worried, so he said, "Why don't you stop by the medbay? Just to be sure?"

Hannah was about to say no, but she stopped. She agreed with James' decision, and he walked her to the medbay. The ship was crowded. The bulkheads seemed to close in on them. They passed by numerous people, who were walking to their stations. James and Hannah walked into the mess room, which was right next to the medbay.

"Thanks for bringing me here" Hannah said, "I can walk the rest of the way"

"It's no problem" James said with a smile

James took a seat in the cafeteria, and he watched other people walk around and get their tables. The lead scientist, Dr. Brand, took a seat in front of him.

"Is everything okay?" James asked, "You seem upset"

Dr. Brand took a deep breath, and she flicked her hair to the side. She was ten years older than James, but she still looked young.

"I don't like the military presence" Brand confessed, "It feels more like a military operation than an actual science mission"

"The military presence is a good thing" James said, "We don't know what's on the other side of the relay"

"Exactly!" Brand exclaimed, "We don't know what's on the other end. For all we know, we will meet some friendly aliens, they see our guns, and then they try to kill us, even though they came in peace"

"Can't we send a message to them?" James asked

Brand looked at James as if he suggested that they all get outside the ship and walk to the relay.

"No, that won't work. We won't possibly understand them, and they won't possibly understand us. We still haven't deciphered that alien message we received! We're also still trying to decipher the data disks from the Prothean ruins!"

"But we know enough to say stop, don't we?"

"That's assuming they are Prothean" Brand said ominously, "There may be more species out there. How do we know that this isn't going to, say, take us right to the center of all galactic civilization? Do you know how awkward that would be?"

"I am sure we will be fine" James said, feeling a little irritated, "All we are doing is using one relay. Besides, if we run into trouble, we can always retreat"

"Assuming they don't follow us. Would you like your child to grow up having to fight aliens? I would much rather live in a world where your child is a good friend to all the aliens in the galaxy"

"With aliens on board, to boot, right?" James asked, half jokingly

Brand laughed, and she said, "That would be an excellent situation. But sadly, we don't know for sure life is out there. All we have are the Prothean ruins, and this message"

Brand took out her laptop, and she opened up her files on a twin Earth they had discovered a decade ago. James skimmed over it, getting the important details. The planet was 2.2 times the size of Earth, likely has a year 1.2 Earth years long, a day that was 28 hours long, and had an approximate surface temperature of 31 degrees C. James also noticed a large warning saying, "Excessive amount of radiation may be inhospitable for life"

"I heard about that planet" James said, "That's one of the more habitable ones we found, right?"

Brand nodded. She said, "If it wasn't for the radiation, it doesn't seem like such a bad place. We guess that it has a an atmospheric pressure of 1.1 atm, and a surface gravity of 1.14 g. It's not so bad"

"My kid may want to visit there" James remarked

Brand opened up another file. This one was a picture of the message they had received. James raised his eyebrows when he saw the word "Calibrate!" on the message.

"Don't mind that. Someone thought it was a false alarm, and they wrote a note on it saying to calibrate the radio antennas" Brand said, "Unfortunately, most of the people in the scientific community agree with that person. They think it was a solar flare from the star's sun"

"What is the star like, anyways? A red dwarf?"

"No, it's a normal star, like ours. We guess that the planet's core isn't as strong, so more radiation reaches the ground. Life we know of couldn't possibly live there, but some form of life may be there. I imagine there are nothing but microbes, maybe small fish like creatures in the sea"

"Or maybe we're talking about a civilization of warrior alien birds"

Brand raised her eyebrows, and she asked slowly, "Warrior alien birds?"

"It's a movie I saw recently" James said, waving his hand, "It's a really good one. I recommend it"

Brand snorted derisively, and she said a little impatiently, "Look, I really don't think there will be…warrior alien birds, or those grey aliens alien abductees talk about, or blue alien human-look alike women running around. There is life in the galaxy, but I really doubt they will look like that. It has been nice talking to you!"

James waved her away, and he turned around to face the medbay. He could see Hannah inside, being tended to by Dr. Chakwas.

"Looks like you are going to be okay" Dr. Chakwas said, as she patted Hannah on the arm.

Dr. Chakwas was a little older than Hannah. Her red hair seemed to bob with her every movement. Hannah was glad that her friend was on board, and that her friend was the one tending to her.

"They are still working out how to use mass effect fields to induce artificial gravity. It can cause people to feel disoriented" Dr. Chakwas explained.

"Thank you, Doctor" Hannah said, "I'm surprised you are already a doctor"

"I was among the top of my class" Dr. Chakwas replied, "It was only natural I am put on this mission"

"Even though it could lead to our deaths?"

Dr. Chakwas laughed lightly, and she said, "I have a feeling this won't be my first suicide run. If all goes well, I will be going on suicide missions with our generation's children!"

Hannah smiled, and she said, "Well, if my daughter is one of them, I hope you keep her in good hands"

Dr. Chakwas paused, and she asked, "You have a child already?"

"No, not yet. But I want to have one someday. I want a daughter, James wants a son"

"If you have two children, there's a chance you will have one boy and one girl"

Hannah shook her head, and she said, "I just want one. Two children is too many"

"What, too many little Shepards running around?" Dr. Chakwas teased

Hannah laughed, and she said, "I think the galaxy will be fine with just three Shepards: me, James, and our child"

"Well, knowing you and James, I imagine your child will be a pleasant person"

"Thank you" Hannah said, "Maybe you will run into him or her someday"

Dr. Chakwas smiled, and she said, "I have a feeling that I will meet him or her. And that I will be seeing him or her in the medbay a lot"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean that you and James both have a tendency to defend others, even if it means you will die in the process. I also know you both have tempers. Knowing you two, I imagine your child will sacrifice himself or herself to do well for the galaxy, and punch more than a few people along the way"

Hannah frowned, and she said, "My child will never hit anyone!"

Dr. Chakwas gave Hannah a skeptical look, and she asked, "Not even a reporter that may or may not be out of line?"

Hannah snapped, "Hey! That reporter had no right to insinuate that the Prothean ruins were a hoax!"

"I agree" Dr. Chakwas said, raising her hands, "But did she deserve to be punched in the face?"

"She had it coming" Hannah said defensively

Dr. Chakwas laughed, and she said, "Okay, how about this? If your child ends up punching a reporter, on camera, then you owe me 100 credits"

"And if my child keeps a straight face, even when the reporter is full of herself, then you owe me 100 for your snide insinuation that my child would do such a thing"

"You have a deal"

James entered the medbay. He asked, "How is she, Dr. Chakwas?"

"All the readings look fine. Your girlfriend is going to be fine, and we have a bet. If your child punches a reporter, she owes me 100 credits. If your child doesn't, then I owe her 100 credits"

"That's an impossible bet" James exclaimed, "You are basically saying that you owe Hannah 100 credits if our child never, ever punches a reporter!"

Dr. Chakwas considered her bet, and she said, "Alright, how about this? Every time your child punches a reporter, Hannah owes me 100 credits. Every time your child restrains himself or herself, I owe Hannah 100 credits"

"That's fair" James said

"Agreed" Hannah said

"Good! I will hold you two to that. And no, I won't tell your child about this bet. I don't want your child to restrain himself or herself just so I lose. Now, would you like some Serrice Ice Brandy?"

"You want to drink while on duty?" James asked

Dr. Chakwas stood up and grabbed some glasses. She said, "One drink each. And don't worry, we have lots of time before we reach the relay. By then, we will be sober and ready. Sit down, let's drink!"

James and Hannah looked at each other, and they shrugged.

"You open up the bottle, we will drink together" James said with a smile

"I'm glad to hear it" Dr. Chakwas said

Dr. Chakwas handed James and Hannah each a glass. She filled their glasses up, and then she filled her glass up. The three of them sat down in the medbay. They talked about their feelings about the mission, and what they think will happen once they go through the relay. Once they were done with their glasses, Dr. Chakwas asked, "So, when you do have your child, what are you going to name him, or her?"

Hannah laughed, partially from the Serrice Ice Brandy. James chuckled as well.

"I was thinking of naming him John, if he's a boy. Jane, if she's a girl" James replied

"They are subject to change" Hannah added, "I'm not entirely sold on those names"

"Interesting names" Dr. Chakwas remarked, "How come you want those?"

"It's short and to the point" James replied, "It would be perfect if our child joins the Alliance military"

"They don't refer to military personnel by their first names" Dr. Chakwas pointed out, "I would be calling your child Commander Shepard, not Commander John or Commander Jane"

Hannah was caught off guard, and she accidently swalCooperd a bit of brandy. She coughed, and she said, "Did you just refer to our child….as Commander Shepard?"

James said, "I think that's very presumptive. You are assuming that our child will not only be born, but that our child will join the military and climb the ranks to be a Lieutenant Commander or Staff Commander"

"Why not?" Dr. Chakwas said, raising her hands, "You two climbed through the ranks yourselves. I wouldn't be surprised if your child did the same. In fact, and I think this may be the brandy talking, but I'm willing to bet that I will serve on your child's ship one day!"

James and Hannah looked at each other, then they looked at Dr. Chakwas. James raised an eyebrow, and Hannah asked, "You…you're serious?"

"Yes" Dr. Chakwas said, "Like you two, your child will probably want to do what's right, and to protect the galaxy. What better way to do that than by joining the Alliance military?"

James laughed. Hannah was quiet, and then she giggled and said, "I suppose you are going to tell us now that our child will save the galaxy?"

Dr. Chakwas nodded. She said, "Again, it may be the brandy talking, but strange things have happened in history. I wouldn't write off the possibility of your child saving the galaxy"

James and Hannah looked at each other again. They both said simultaneously, "I should go", and then they stood up and made their way out of the medbay. Dr. Chakwas closed her eyes, and she leaned back into the chair. For a moment, she had a mental image of sitting with a person who looked like a cross between James and Hannah, and that person was just as drunk as she was. Dr. Chakwas bolted upright, and she instantly regretted it.

"Wait, did the two of them just get up and walk!?" Dr. Chakwas asked out loud, and then she said under her breath, "I feel like lying down. Dr. Chakwas stood up, made her way to a bed, and fell onto it. She murmured under her breath, "Nice bed". Before she dozed off to an alcohol induced slumber, she wondered if James and Hannah's child would have their inhuman ability to drink a glass of brandy and still walk.

James and Hannah made their way to their quarters. On the way, they passed by a lounge, which had a massive window on one side. Outside, Hannah could see Saturn's immense bulk.

"You go on without me" James said as he came to a stop, "I just remembered that I need to calibrate our guns"

Hannah stopped, and she turned around. She said, "Really? You need to calibrate them now?"

"We have no idea where we are going to end up. We need to be ready. Now is as good a time as any"

Hannah frowned, and she asked, "You aren't going to join me in our quarters?"

"I will join you later, I promise"

Hannah crossed her arms, and she said skeptically, "Really?"

"Yes, really! I will join you" James said

Hannah sighed, and she said, "Alright, I will hold you to that. Just know that I won't come to you to ask you to join me. You will just tell me that you are in the middle of calibrations again"

James raised his hands and said somewhat defensively, "Hey, come on. Calibrations take a long time"

"Uh huh. I'm sure they do"

"Really, Hannah. They do"

Hannah raised an eyebrow, and she said, "If you say so. When you join me, you can show me that reach you talked about. And I will show you my flexibility"

James smiled, and he said, "Well, I do like the sound of that. I will see you later tonight, before we hit the relay"

"Good"

Hannah turned around and continued walking to her quarters. She silently wondered if her daughter was going to fall in love with someone who needed to calibrate weapons frequently. She was a little amused to imagine a future where her daughter sends her a message saying, "My boyfriend is calibrating the ship's guns again!"

Before Hannah left the corridor, she glanced one last time at James. She took a moment to look at his butt, and then she resumed walking to her quarters. The rest of the trip to the relay was uneventful. Hannah sat on her bunk, daydreaming about her child being at the helm of the ship. Sometimes her daydreams were about a woman standing at the helm of the ship, and other times her daydreams were about a man standing at the helm of the ship. She liked to imagine that her child, regardless of the eventual gender, would be a strong person, who is willing to do the right thing, and will stop at nothing to ensure everyone's safety.

Meanwhile, James was working on his weapons. He was immersed in his work, and he didn't pay much attention to the soldiers and personnel walking around him. A small part of him felt like he may be teaching his child how to assemble his or her guns, and how to shoot. Occasionally, he would look away from his work to stare at the armor arranged near him. For some reason, he was drawn to the armor with a red stripe going down the arm. For a split second, he imagined his child saluting him in that armor.

"You're going to make me proud one day" James muttered, before going back to his guns

The Endurance silently made its way through the outer solar system. It silently moved past Uranus and Neptune. Like the rest of the planets between Earth and Pluto, the two gas giants were silent spectators on mankind's greatest mission of the century. The hours ticked by until the Endurance was parked right in Pluto's orbit. By then, it was the end of the Endurance crew's day shift. The night shift, which composed of a skeleton crew, was already starting to wake up.

Hannah was on her terminal, checking her messages. She was writing a message to her parents, but she couldn't bring herself to finish it. The door behind her hissed open, and Hannah turned around to see James standing in the doorway.

"James?" Hannah asked

"Hey" James said as he entered Hannah's quarters, "I couldn't sleep"

Hannah groaned, and she stood up. She said, "I can't sleep either. I'm too damn tense"

"Me too" James sighed, and he said, "This whole mission….this whole trip….this could be it, you know?"

"Yeah" Hannah said as she sat down on her bunk, "We could all die tomorrow"

"So many things have to go right. So many things" James said, "I went over the mission details for tomorrow. We strap in, we go through the relay, and we celebrate. Easy enough, right?"

Hannah snorted, and she said, "Of course, it won't be that easy. It will never be that easy"

"Yeah. I just have a feeling that….something is going to happen tomorrow" James said softly. He took Hannah's hands, and he said, "It has been an honor serving with you"

"Don't talk like we're all going to die" Hannah said as she stood up, "We're going to make it through this. I promise"

"I just want something to go right. Just this once"

"Don't worry" Hannah said as she rubbed James' cheek, "It will"

The two of them leaned in and touched foreheads. They soon began kissing, and they wrapped their arms around each other. The next few hours were among the best in their lives.

"That….was amazing" Hannah breathed breathlessly once they were done, "That's another way to drop and give you 20"

James was already sitting up, smirking at her.

"Really? Maybe we should do more. I think we ought to have Round Two"

Hannah laughed, and she said, "No, I got other…guns to check out. Before we go, I want to say" Hannah stopped, and then she said, "You know what? You wanna find out what I want to say? You need to come back to me"

"It's a deal" James said

Hannah saw a flicker of worry in James' face when he turned away. Hannah reached up and grabbed his arm.

"Hey, are you okay?" Hannah asked, now concerned for James

"Yeah. I'm fine. It's just nerves" James replied

Hannah chuckled under her breath, and she said, "Just nerves, he said"

"It's the mission, and the fact that we may not come back" James said

"We will come back. And we are going to be heroes"

James smiled, and he stood up to get ready. In a few minutes, the two of them were strapped into the bridge. The Charon relay loomed ahead of them.

"Approaching the Charon relay" the pilot radioed, "We're about to make history"

"Cut the dramatics, and go in" Grissom growled, "This isn't the time to stand on ceremony!"

The Endurance's engines came to life as the pilot pushed the throttle to full speed. The Endurance zipped towards the relay. The relay's gigantic rings started to spin in reaction to the Endurance's presence. The blue mass of energy sparkled as the rings spun faster and faster. A single line of blue energy leapt out from the relay, and it engulfed the Endurance, as it had done to so many ships 50,000 years ago. The Endurance was quickly brought into the relay. There was a sudden flash of blue light as the Endurance hit the orb of blue energy in the center of the relay. In a matter of seconds, the Endurance went from the Sol System to another solar system entirely.

"That's it?" James asked, once they were through

Grissom ignored James' comment. He leaned forward in his chair, and he asked, "Where are we?"

The pilot flipped through the navigation charts on the Endurance's computers. The crew sat there for several tense minutes. The pilot tried to figure out where they were, but it was impossible. What he does know is that they had clearly left the solar system. The question is where did they go? While he was searching, the Endurance was slowly drifting through space. The Endurance just happened to be gently moving its cockpit around until it faced the sun. The viewports' shades instantly went up, and someone in the bridge yelled, "Hey, look!"

The pilot looked up, and his jaw dropped. He pressed a button to ask the Endurance to scan the star.

"This….this can't be right…." The pilot murmured

"What's going on?" Grissom asked, "Where are we?"

The pilot felt excitement starting to grow within him. If the ship's computers are right, then they had ended up….in the Arcturus system. They were currently facing Arcturus itself!

"Sir, we are officially 39 light years away from Earth. Welcome to Arcturus!" the pilot said with a grin

"You….you're joking!" Grissom said, "We ended up in the Arcturus system?"

"That's correct, sir. We are now the first humans to go from one solar system to another" the pilot said with a big smile

Grissom said, "Well done. This is a truly remarkable day in history. What else is in this system?"

The pilot looked deflated, and he said, "That's it? Sir, we jumped from one star system to another using Prothean technology, and you ask me what else is in this system?"

Grissom growled, and he said, "I know what we did! We can't just stand around gawking like idiots. We have a job to do. What else is in the system?"

The pilot frowned, and he started scanning the system. He muttered under his breath, "You have no sense of romance when it comes to making history"

Grissom ignored his comment. He leaned back in his chair, scanning the view with his own eyes. Hannah and James looked at each other, and squeezed each other's hands. They both smiled, and they whispered, "We did it!"

"Sir, we are picking up signatures that match the relay we just used!" the pilot said

"Really?" Grissom asked, "How many?"

"Three, sir. I think they lead out of this system"

"And onto more habitable planets….very good, son. Now let's go home"

"What!? Sir, we just got here!"

Grissom leaned forward and growled, "Take us home, now. Our mission was to use the relay, nothing more!"

"I have to agree with our pilot" Brand spoke up, "There could be discoveries on the other side of the relay!"

"That can wait for another expedition!" Grissom barked

"But…the relays are right there!" the pilot protested

"With all due respect, sir, we can't just leave!" Brand added, "We could miss out on something big!"

Grissom gave Brand and the pilot a glare that said, "Speak up one more time, and I am throwing you out the airlock". Lieutenant Cooper, the ship's XO, coughed gently and said, "Sir, I think going through the relays is good reconnaissance. We can find out what's out there, see if we need to defend ourselves against anything"

Grissom turned to look at his XO. He was about to chew him out, but he stopped. He said, "Continue"

"This system leads to three more systems. For all we know, there could be forces on the other side of those relays, waiting to attack us. I suggest we send three shuttles, one through each relay. We give them one day to explore before they come back. If they don't come back by the end of the day, we assume that something happened, and we return without them"

Grissom rubbed his chin. His XO had a point. They don't know what's on the other end of the relay. If they left now, and an alien invasion force folCooperd them after they left, his career would come to a grinding halt. But if they managed to find an alien invasion force before the aliens knew of their existence, then humanity would have time to prepare for war.

"Very well, but the crews have one day to return" Grissom said, "But I want military personnel in each shuttle! I do not want to get our scientists killed. There is nothing sadder than someone in the landing party dying a few minutes after they arrive"

James and Hannah stood up, and they made their way to the shuttles. The Endurance had a total of six, in case there were multiple targets they could get to.

"Cooper, you go with Brand, Armstrong, and Shepard" Grissom ordered

"Sir!" Cooper protested

"I need to make sure they come back alive" Grissom said, "I can take care of things up here"

"Yes sir" Cooper said after a moment's hesitation

Brand glared at Cooper, who waved her off. James said to Hannah, "Just another mission, right?"

"Just another mission" Hannah said

The four of them donned their armor. Cooper, James, and Hannah grabbed their weapons, and they entered the shuttle after Brand. Brand looked at their weapons disapprovingly, and then she started up the shuttle. The shuttle sped out of the Endurance's hanger, and sped its way towards one of the relays. The relay spun to life in response to the approaching shuttle.

"Here we go" Brand said, "Another jump to another solar system"

The shuttle zipped into the relay, and it was instantly teleported to another solar system. This time, the solar system they entered had five planets. Brand smiled, and she said, "May I introduce you to our new home"

Cooper leaned forward, and he asked, "Are there any habitable planets nearby?"

Brand pursed her lips as she watched the shuttle's computer scan the system. After a minute, the shuttle identified the star's second outermost planet as the habitable planet.

"There. Eden Prime" Brand said

James and Hannah both looked at Brand. Cooper said, "Eden Prime?"

"Why not?" Brand said with a shrug, "I figured it should be named after the Garden of Eden. And since it's the first habitable planet we actually see outside our solar system, we may as well have Prime as part of its name"

Cooper grunted. James said, "I like the name". Hannah nodded, and she said, "That's a very fitting name"

Cooper smiled, and he said, "Alright, take us in to Eden Prime. We need to touch down"

"Yes sir" Brand said with a smile

The shuttle accelerated towards the blue green planet that was Eden Prime. Hannah and James watched the Earth like planet grow larger in the shuttle's windows. Hannah glanced over at James, whose armor had a red stripe going down the left arm.

"You should be the one to step outside first" Hannah said

"Me?" James asked, "What about Lieutenant Cooper?"

"I agree. You should be the first one out" Cooper said, "The Captain and I shouldn't get all the glory"

"You are letting them out first!?" Brand protested

"Why not?" Cooper said, "It seems fitting to have the descendant of the first American to enter Earth orbit be the first one to step on an extrasolar planet"

"Well, actually" James was about to say, but Hannah stopped him

"You don't know if it's a myth or not" Hannah said, "For all you know, it's true. Besides, what's the point of arguing? You are going to get out there. You may as well be first"

James nodded, and he said, "You have a point"

The shuttle entered Eden Prime's atmosphere. The view outside was quickly consumed by flames as the shuttle's belly met the planet's atmosphere. Thanks to the mass effect fields, they didn't need to worry about heat shields or g forces. They didn't notice anything change when they moved through the atmosphere. In a matter of minutes, they were already approaching the ground. James saw that they were heading towards the top of a cliff. The cliff was covered in grass. He could see a small lake in the distance, and a few strange, bag like creatures moving over the water. He could also see a faint trail leading away from their designated landing site.

"Touch down in 3…2…1" Brand counted down, "And we landed!"

Brand, Cooper, James, and Hannah cheered. In a moment of exhilaration, James and Hannah kissed. They quickly realized that their XO was with them. They looked at him, and to their relief, Cooper was grinning.

"Don't worry, I won't tell the Captain" Cooper said, "I will tell him that you both got up at the same time, and bumped helmets"

"Thank you Lieutenant" Hannah and James said simultaneously

James turned towards the hatch, and he gripped it with his hand. He took a deep breath and said, "Here we go"

James turned the handle down, and unlocked the hatch. The hatch hissed open, and the four occupants were greeted by Eden Prime's star rising above the horizon.

"It's morning" James observed, and he looked at Hannah, "You sure you want me to go out first? You are the direct descendant of –"

Hannah stopped him and said, "No, forget the whole making this poetic nonsense. For all I know, I have no relation to the first man to walk on the moon. It could be a myth, it could not. Go on, step outside"

James looked out towards Eden Prime's surface. He took his left boot, and planted it in Eden Prime's soil. He took his right boot, and he planted it by his left boot. He stood up straight, and he said, "We found our new home"

Hannah smiled, and she felt a few tears emerge from her eye. She wanted to wipe it, but her helmet's visor got in the way. She stepped outside to stand besides James. The two looked out over the landscape. They could see trees stretching out before them.

"This is it….our new home" Hannah said, "Or at least, one of many"

"Yeah. It's hard to believe we made it this far" James said, still in awe of the landscape

Hannah cocked her head to the side, and she held up her gloved hands in the shape of a rectangle. She said, "The living room window will be right here"

James looked at her, and he asked, "Are you planning our house already?"

Hannah chuckled, and she said, "Of course. This is where our child will grow up"

"Here?" James asked, "There's a chance that this will be one of the more crowded colonies in just a few years. Why not somewhere farther out? Be away from all that crowded noise?"

Hannah smiled, and she said, "Yeah. But I want to move here first. Maybe when this planet gets crowded, we can talk about moving somewhere"

"Of course, there's always living on a space station" Brand spoke up as she walked outside, "Your child would be the luckiest child in the galaxy to wake up everyday and see a bunch of stars outside"

"Until he realizes that there's a few inches separating him from the cold vacuum of space" James pointed out. He had a horrific vision in his mind of his child being thrown out of a ship, and then suffocating in orbit around a planet shortly afterwards.

"Well, space is romantic" Hannah pointed out, "And our child could learn to appreciate the dangers of space travel that way. It's easier to do that up there, in orbit or traveling between the stars, than it is living on a planet"

"There's always adoption, if military life becomes too much for you" Cooper said, "My daughter had a hard time watching me leave. Chances are, your child will have a hard time watching you two go. It may be easier to put your child up for adoption on Earth"

Hannah frowned, and she said, "With all due respect, Sir, I think our situation will be different from yours"

James intervened, and he said, "What Hannah means to say is that we will find a way. We can always retire and live on a colony somewhere. Our military history will be a thing of the past"

"If you say so" Cooper said as he walked away

Brand looked at both James and Hannah. She said, "If you will excuse me, I need to go look at those strange…things by the lake"

"They're gas bags" James said, "They're harmless"

Hannah asked, "Gas bags? That's what you are going to call them?"

James shrugged, and he said, "It's descriptive"

Hannah shook her head in amusement. She sat down and said, "This…doesn't feel real"

"It will sink in" James said, and he picked up a rock next to them.

"I think this may help remind you of what we did today. Here, a small piece of Eden Prime" James said as he handed the rock to Hannah.

Hannah smiled, and she gently took the rock. She put it in her suit pocket, and she looked out at the horizon again. Eden Prime's star continued to rise into the sky.

"I look out here, and all I see are the people who died in our efforts to explore space, the people we lost in all of humanity's wars throughout history. But now…" Hannah said before pausing. She reached up to her helmet, and she unlatched it. She heard a faint hiss of air as she lifted her helmet off her head, and held it under her arm. She said, "Now…we have this"

James wrapped his arm around Hannah's waist, and then they both looked up into the sky. The Endurance made it through the relay. The two of them both made it to Eden Prime, which was the first habitable extrasolar planet humanity has visited. They have no idea as to what will happen to them in the future, what will happen to their yet to be conceived child, but they both had a feeling that their child's life will be one that will be told for centuries.


End file.
